2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The Porsche fans had to be patient for a long time. Now it's here - and the wait for the GT3 was worth it. The latest product from the Zuffenhausen-based company not only cuts a figure on the racetrack.
By Jürgen Wolff
How do you make an Italian Alfisti happy? It's simple: between Verona and Venice, pulling the Porsche 911 GT3 at a moderate temperature to the same height, smiling briefly and friendly, accelerating, shifting, accelerating - and bye.
Enjoy the sound
When he unlocks behind the next 100 km / h sign and slowly drives past, the smile comes back. There is no trace of envy in that smile. Just having fun with that sound. So much strength. And then there's an encore in the next tunnel. A Porsche 911 GT3 is never entirely your own. Everyone around enjoys a bit. The rich, deep rumbling sound is no accident. For the first time in a modern 911, the exhaust gas cycles of all six cylinders are brought together in a common mixing chamber.
Porsche has given the GT3 a new exhaust system that has grown by twelve liters with catalytic converters close to the engine. The two front silencers controlled by an exhaust flap now lead to a large-volume, transversely installed main silencer with two central tailpipes. This not only reduces the exhaust back pressure (and brings more power), but also contributes significantly to the rumbling, toxic background noise of the six-cylinder boxer in the rear. The boxer is still boxing.
Engine completely revised
And it still has 3,600 cc displacement. But with the exception of the crankshaft housing, the engine has been completely redesigned. “It has practically no screw in common with the old GT3 engine,” says project manager Andreas Preuninger. Porsche fans are technology fans. Therefore, more technology than usual in a driving report: The essential features of the boxer include longitudinally divided crankcases and an eight-fold crank drive with connecting rods made of titanium, cylinder housings comprising three cylinders and cylinder heads with four valves per combustion chamber, attached camshaft housings with separate inlet and outlet ports Exhaust camshafts - and of course the dry sump lubrication that Porsche swears by. All moving parts were optimized so that they either lost weight or increased efficiency. Preuninger proudly announces, for example, that around 30 grams of weight have been saved per cylinder.
415 hp power
From the 3.6 liter displacement of the naturally aspirated engine, which has remained unchanged for years, Porsche gets a whopping 305 kW / 415 PS (at 7600 rpm) in the new GT3. That is 115.4 hp per liter of displacement - ten hp more than its predecessor. The maximum torque of 405 Nm is 5,500 rpm. at. The maximum speed is 8400 revolutions. The resulting performance figures do not adequately reflect the experience potential of the GT3: it accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.3 seconds, and only 9.2 seconds later the speedometer needle drives beyond 200. The end is only at 310 km /H.
Purebred club athlete
It is not just such values that make the GT3 a thoroughbred club athlete for the racetrack. Nor is it that Porsche is offering a clubsport package at no extra charge, with a roll cage, six-point seat belts and preparation for a battery main switch. The tires specially developed for the GT3 ensure that the power arrives on the road even at high accelerations - and that it sticks to the asphalt even when accelerating out of tight corners that have already been driven quickly. At the rear, minimalist profiled 305 mm rollers roll off.
The optimized aerodynamics ensure additional contact pressure. The sweeping rear wing including the wing supports, for example, brings about 25 kilos of downforce on the rear axle at 300 km / h. The underbody is almost completely smooth. At the front, too, the deeply drawn-down spoiler lip and the generous air openings not only provide cooling, but also reduce lift on the front axle.
Robust hit
And then of course the active PASM suspension, which is offered for the first time for the GT3. One press of the “Sport” button - and the Porsche becomes a real hit. And if you want to really drive around the bends, you press a few more buttons: the traction control off, tighter dampers, 25 Nm more torque and switching off all driving aids.
Preuninger: "We want the driver, not the electronics, to have full control - if he wants it." And if he can. Because anyone who rushes over the Nordschleife without any helpers should bring enough feeling and experience. But apart from the racetrack and the pressed buttons, the Porsche 911 GT3 is a car that is absolutely suitable for everyday use. In the normal configuration, the chassis configuration proves to be almost comfortable and easy on the back.
Even those who do not order the standard seats but the light carbon fiber bucket seats can survive longer distances with astonishing ease. As long as he fumbles the belt whips through the openings in the seat flanks and protects his thighs from blue pressure marks.
Suitable for everyday life
Seriously: the racing car is suitable for everyday use. You can even stow a soda box in the front trunk. Let's get to the bad news: All of this has its price. Porsche wants 108,083 euros for the GT3 - the Zuffenhausen-based company loves crooked numbers. That should be good enough for 900 copies a year, the marketing people have calculated. About half of the annual production is to go to the USA, most of the second half will stay in Germany. Many are not. But we will hardly miss you on the street. And certainly not to ignore it.
